Old forests of Farensal

When the Wanderers first arrived to the plains of Farensal, they were covered by a thick forest of ancient trees. Although the human settlement has since then wiped out all traces of these magnificent trees, their memory still lives in the contemporary mythology.

Origin

Right after the creation of Salan, god Leitandár came upon Salan, and ploughed the hard rocks into soft soil. Then he traveled merrily all over the new fields, and wherever he stepped, there sprouted grass in his footsteps, where he hit with his staff, there saplings sprang from the ground, and where he lay to rest, there spread verdant flower fields. After Leitandár had gone, the trees kept growing, and soon the whole world was covered by a thick forest. Eventually the trees grew so tall, that the gods decided to fall them down. The forests of Farensal are believed to have been the remnants of these primordial forests.

Ecology

Many now forgotten creatures, spirits and mortal, roamed the forests. The chief of them were the Forest giants. They were the guardians of the forest, protecting the trees and keeping everything in balance. They took the form of the forest itself, resembing old trees, covered with mossy hair.

The forest was filled with all sorts of wild game, and countless bird species filled it with their singing. The forest was also filled with delicious berries and medicinal plants. The Wanderers, early humans living in the land, lived from hunting and gathering, never staying in one place for long. But the forest offered them plenty of sustinence, and their life was merry and free of heavy work.

Extinction

It is suspected, that the driving out of the forest giants, as the conclusion of the Giant Wars signalled the doom of the forest itself. The growing human population was craving building material, and land for the fields and pastures. The once huge forest soon became fragmented, until finally none of the ancient trees were left. Although some old groves remain on the hills of Farensal, the trees itself are not the same grand type that used to grow in the ancient times.

by R. W. Ekman, Kansallisgalleria

Leitandár planting the great forests

Geographic Distribution

• Farensal

In Mythology

The old forests are generally depicted as mysterious and scary location. The history of the Time of Wander was mostly written by the the descendants Highlander settlers, and little is known about the way of life of the Lowlanders before they arrived.